Hundreds of new B.C. brokers breached regulatory requirement

Insurance Council of B.C. takes disciplinary action against brokers who avoided educational course
Staff on August 2, 2017

More than 400 newly licensed insurance brokers in B.C. are being disciplined by the Insurance Council of British Columbia for failing to comply with a requirement to take a mandatory course.The rule, which was initiated in March 2016, stated insurance professionals who received their licenses between March 2016 and February 2017 must take a “council rules” course called ” by June 1, 2017.
The course “provides instruction on a licensee’s responsibilities under council rules; provincial legislation; and other regulatory responsibilities. Council has developed the council rules course after finding that licensees are failing to make themselves aware of their regulatory responsibilities,” states the regulator’s website.
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According to the provincial regulator, 420 brokers who received their insurance licenses during the specified time frame failed to comply by taking the mandatory course. “The 420 new licensees represent about 8% of all the new licensees who were required to complete the council rules course by June 1, 2017, with approximately 50% from general insurance and 50% from life insurance,” says Gerald Matier, the executive director of the Insurance Council of B.C., in a statement to Canadian Insurance Top Broker.
When the new licensees received their certifications, they were alerted to the requirement, says the Insurance Council of B.C. in a release, and were reminded before the 2017 annual filing period. The provincial regulator is pursuing disciplinary action, as those who didn’t complete the course before June 1 were in breach of the Council. Those who failed to comply with the requirement will receive their disciplinary decisions in the mail.